BMW GS: Thirty Year Special Editions

This year, the BMW GS series is celebrating its 30th birthday. BMW introduced the R 80 G/S in the fall as a large-displacement machine combining on- and off-road worlds.

Offering a unique combination of on-road, touring and off-road capabilities, without compromising everyday-use abilities, the R 80 G/S was a brand-new concept—the grand touring enduro–a completely new type of motorcycle created by BMW Motorrad.

In 1981, the R 80 G/S, with Hubert Auriol behind the bars, brought home victory in the epic Paris-Dakar Rally. This was only one of the great successes in motorsport celebrated by BMW Motorrad with the GS through the following three decades.

During the last 30 years, BMW Motorrad has consistently nurtured the outstanding talents of the GS boxer models, focusing on riding dynamics, off-road qualities, comfort, and endurance. In 1993, the F 650, with a single-cylinder engine, made its first appearance in the market.

And while the F 650 derived its riding qualities from ideal weight distribution, its unique concept and the superior power of its 47 horsepower motor, the BMW GS line moved on to the next generation. The same time the new R 100 GS was the world’s first enduro to feature ABS–a safety feature now to be found on all BMW motorcycles, save the G 450 X.

While BMW Paralever rear-wheel suspension had already eliminated any unwanted drive and power reaction of the drive shaft on the two-valve boxer engines years earlier, BMW’s engineers introduced the Telelever as a highly innovative single-shock front-wheel suspension. Offering anti-dive and highly sensitive response, this new technology quickly set new standards.

The BMW R 1100 GS was the first GS with a four-valve boxer engine and 80 horsepower–it also entered a new era of touring enduro riding in terms of the suspension and running gear. This was the first enduro using the engine and transmission as load-bearing elements on the chassis, making a conventional main frame superfluous.

The 2000 F 650 GS was the first single-cylinder with electronic fuel injection, catalytic converter, and ABS brakes. The parallel-twin powered F 650 GS and F 800 GS introduced in 2007 set a further outstanding milestone in the history of the BMW GS.

With their high-performance and high-torque engine and their torsionally rigid space frame, they interpret the BMW GS theme in a new way. Introducing these new models, BMW Motorrad not only presented the successors to the highly successful single-cylinder F 650 GS, but also expanded the range of enduro machines in the midsize segment.

In autumn 2009, BMW introduced the updated BMW R 1200 GS. Now featuring an even more free-revving DOHC boxer engine with two overhead camshafts per cylinder, this new machine offers maximum output of 110 horsepower and an even higher level of riding performance.

Launching the "30 Years GS" special versions of the BMW R 1200 GS, the R 1200 GS Adventure, the F 800 GS, and the F 650 GS, BMW Motorrad is paying its tribute to the outstanding success of the GS models both in the production of series machines and in motorsport.

Racing provided the input for the attractive design of the Edition Models in the livery of BMW Motorrad Motorsport 30 years ago.